"Linux Gazette...making Linux just a little more fun!"

Cosource.com Enters Live Beta!

Cosource.com is a web site
which gathers financial support for Open Source projects. Users who
have been frustrated by some missing software feature, nagging bug, or
unsupported hardware can use Cosource.com to fund an effort to get it
fixed. Developers can write Open Source projects ... and get paid for
it. Projects that run on any platform are welcome.

Let's say you have a sound card for your home PC, for which there
is no Linux driver. You learn that the manufacturer would prefer to
have a Linux driver, but for whatever reason there isn't one. Here's
how you would solve the problem with Cosource.com:

Go to the site and register as a member, and login.

Browse the request lists. If someone else already has
submitted the same request, just add that request to your watchlist.
You'll be notified whenever a proposal to develop your request is
submitted.

If there's not already a request submitted, you can enter a new
request for a driver for your sound card via the 'Submit Request'
form, listing the full functional requirements per the instructions
found on there.

Developers can then submit proposals to develop the driver. As
part of a developer's proposal, he or she names someone who serves as
an 'Authority', or third-party peer-reviewer for the project. It this
Authority who serves as arbiter of success or failure for the
project.

You and other members -- perhaps even the manufacturer of
the card -- then review proposals, and may elect to commit funds to one
or
more. The minimum commitment is $10 US.

Whichever proposal first gathers enough commitments to cover its
bid wins and enters development. The Authority reviews and tests the
software prior to release.

Once the Authority declares the project complete, it is released
... then you and all others who committed funds pay your commitment via
credit card. Cosource.com then pays the developer and authority for
their work.

The above example shows how non-developers can now have Open Source
packages written to suit their needs. Plus, no single individual or
corporation is stuck with paying the full tab for the development.

The card manufacturer mentioned above can help make their product
available to the Linux Community at a fraction of the full cost of
paying to develop the driver themselves. This process also gives
developers a financial incentive to spend more of their programming
time producing Open Source products.

Organizations or individuals who own the copyright to a complete
software package may also use Cosource.com to solicit funds in
exchange for re-licensing their product as Open Source.

It's the goal of Cosource.com to make all of the above factors work
in favor of the entire Open Source community.

Cosource.com is now conducting a Live Beta program. Everyone is
welcome to sign up as a member (it's free) and test the site.
Hopefully, the site will be fully live and relatively bug-free within
a few weeks.